Hello
by Andorian Ice Princess-AIP
Summary: I just needed to hear your voice. SMACKED fluff.


**Title: Hello **

**Summary:** I just needed to hear your voice. Are you sure that's all you needed? SMACKED fluff.

**Disclaimer: **Goodness you know by now write? If not then you should read more of my stories! I only wish I owned Mac Taylor *sigh* the rest? Yadda yadda yadda :D

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Well I know everyone is busy during the summer so I do apologize if my updates aren't as regular as they used to be (blame RL!) but I do appreciate all the reviews so thanks so much and hope you all like this! I will be having a bit of minor surgery in a few weeks but am hoping that Alice can still update for you all in a timely manner. I think you all know my love of Neil Diamond and I found this song fitting for our fave couple so let Alice run with it and hope you like it. I also recommend listening to this song either before during or after reading or just cuz - b/c it's an awesome song!

_**Note: 'Words in bold and lyrics belong to the song 'Hello Again' by Neil Diamond**_

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><p>It didn't matter that it was late – she was alone and she hated to be alone.<p>

To say the week was a tough one, wouldn't really amount to much out of the ordinary as in her line of work all weeks were tough and it wasn't fair to single one out due to one trying case or one belligerent witness. But if she was honest she'd have to admit that due to a few emotional circumstances beyond her control this week was a bit more stressful than others in recent past.

"Oh damn," Stella softly curses as she slowly rolls onto her other side and stares absently at the long shadow on the wall; an image produced by the muted streetlight trying to enter through the slit in the darkened curtains. She had memorized the time in her mind and so didn't need to flip back to see that it really was an ungodly hour.

"1:00am" was the time the small bedside clock had displayed only a few seconds earlier. Time was now laughing at her emotional misery.

"Mac…" his name slips past her soft lips, dangling in the darkened air for a few more seconds before dissipating into the silence that was starting to stifle her. It was the image of his handsome face that comforted her all alone in that quiet, dark room.

All week her emotions had run high, thanks in part to a case about a murdered orphaned girl; a girl that could have resembled her as a child. She knew she was testy and had pushed both of them to the emotional breaking point more than once.

But each time, he would come back, put his arms around her and just hold her in the comforting silence, allowing her to dispel whatever she needed to at the moment and bring some semblance of normalcy back to her otherwise strained day. The best thing about their growing love was the exchange of that love. For she would return the favor to him one hundred fold; pulling him from his office and taking him to a quiet location where he could dispel whatever he needed to and then go back about his business as the stoic leader the rest of the team admired and respected.

The work was demanding but the two of them always demanded more from each other than the criminal element on the streets of New York or even their diligent team. But their demands were always tempered with love, devotion, respect, unyielding passion and undying loyalty. A few of those emotions outspoken and the few kept inside the heart for now.

Stella looks at the clock again and automatically groans. It was budget time and Sinclair was riding them hard. Mac's report had to be on his desk before sunup the next morning and he had told her to go home and rest and he'd pull the all-nighter, get the report done and join her for breakfast the following morning; the rest of the day promised to them to do as they pleased with the Chief's blessing. It would be their first day off together in months and they both had talked about just enjoying the company of the other and getting to know them better, draw closer and then go from there.

Stella rolls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling, a fleeting image of Mac passes by her unconscious and her lips once again curl upward in the dark; even a fleeting image had that soothing effect on her.

"I miss your voice Mac," Stella grumbles as the smile is replaced by another small frown. However, the night was now moot and she knew it. Tossing and turning; pretending to sleep was a waste of mental energy and a fruitless endeavor. He was up and away from her; she wouldn't be at rest until she knew he was doing the same, not pushing himself to the professional brink and then being too tired to enjoy their day off.

So with a frustrated sigh, she pushes back the covers and expertly navigates the dark hallway between her bed and the bedroom door; emerging into the darkened passageway that leads to the kitchen where a kettle is waiting to be used. She looks at the phone and for a split second considers calling him to see the progress he was making.

"No Stella…that isn't fair," she scolds herself as she turns on the small light above the stove and puts the kettle onto the nearest gas burner, flicking it to high and then turning and heading into the living room. To call because she was lonely and just wanted to hear his voice was a selfish endeavor and she knew it. Oh he'd never fault her for it, even if it did distract him from the task at hand; a task that actually involved both their monetary futures.

She slumps down into the nearby sofa and stares at the black box of the fifty inch plasma TV before her, her hand wanting to reach for the remote to distract her brain, but her heart winning out with another idea.

"I could just call to say hello…see how it's going," she tries to reason, arguing with herself that even if she wasn't going to ask when he was going home or if he was close to finishing that it would still be distracting him and it would only fill her emotional need at the moment and that wasn't fair to him. He was doing this ultimately for them; she has to let him finish.

The kettle starts to whistle and she's quick to push herself up off the couch and hurry in its direction, whisking it off the element before it can arouse the neighbor's suspicions. Once the cup is filled, she allows it to steep by itself on the counter while she turns and looks out the large picture window with the slats only partially blocking her view of the still vibrant city a few stories below.

Stella turns to look at the clock, watching the second hand trudge by with extreme slowness, barely making it to the next black line before passing it and going to the next, taking a small painful eternity to reach the number twelve, thus sending another minute into the past.

"Just a hello," Stella tries to convince herself as she looks at the clock once more. She loves Mac, more than life itself, there was no harm and she knows that he call will not be in vain.

She picks up the phone and dials his office number, waiting with baited breath for his warm baritone voice to come through on the other end. But there is no answer and her heart actually sinks. He had gone home, that is in reality what she had wanted but now…now she wouldn't be able to fall asleep with his voice as the last thing filling her brain.

So going against her own inner critic, she dials his home number and waits a second time. Would it be the right decision? Would he be upset that she was calling so late? Or would her efforts be rewarded? Would her call be in vain? She didn't have to wait too long as a few seconds later she was rewarded with his loving tone in her ears – her call wasn't in vain.

_**Hello again hello…**_

"Stella?" Mac's voice greets her with an edge of concern. "Everything okay?"

"Actually I just called to say hello," she replies, her voice barely a whisper.

"At this time? Why are you up?"

"Becuase you are," she smartly answers and he can't help but smile.

_**Just called to say hello…**_

"Hello? Is that all?"

"That's all Mac."

"Are you sure?"

"Thought that maybe I missed you might sound too cliché or sappy," she ends with a small giggle; her mind picking up his smile on the other end of the line.

"A little but it still sounds nice," Mac admits as he slowly leans back against his bed frame, staring into the lonely empty space before him. "Seriously Stella, is everything okay?"

_**I couldn't sleep at all tonight…**_

"I guess I just wanted to see how the um…the report went."

"The report?"

"Yeah the report. You know work...our financial future," she tells him in half truth. It was a somewhat weak excuse but knew that if he had just spent the last several hours putting forth extra mental effort it would take him a bit to turn it off completely and get some sleep. And she knows who she's talking to – Mac Taylor, the man who practically invented insomnia.

"Yes I guess our financial future is a good reason to call," his lips slightly twist upward at the playful tone of her response. "But do you know the time?"

_**And I know it's late…**_

"I am looking at the clock in the kitchen right now," she pauses, allowing silence to grow. "I got my bad habit of being up at this hour from you."

"From me?" Mac asks with another smile. "Stella?"

"I know it's late Mac, but I was worried. You pulled three all-nighters this week already and I was afraid that tonight would be another and you actually wouldn't be taking tomorrow off as you promised."

"I promised you brunch didn't I?"

"Mac…"

"We are still on for tomorrow Stella, that promise still stands."

"Well then I guess I just couldn't wait to say good morning," she offers with a soft giggle.

_**But I couldn't wait.**_

"You could have stayed you know…helped with the report."

"I think I would have been more of a distraction than anything," she sighs, leaning her head on one hand as her fingers start to get tangled in a mass of unruly golden curls.

"Mabye, but at times a welcome one," Mac admits with a small sigh. "At least Sinclair wasn't there."

"That's true. But since I wasn't you'll just have to make due with a phone call."

_**Hello my friend hello…**_

"You know…" Mac starts and then stops, his own lips emitting a rather nervous chuckle.

"What is it Mac? Talk to me?"

"You just sounded so sad with that confession. Why is that?"

"What confession?"

"Just a phone call? You sure that is all?" Mac continues to gently pry, his heart and mind begging for the right answer.

_**Just called to let you know…**_

"You seriously want a confession over the phone?"

"I guess I'll have to take what I can get," he smirks and her lips automatically curl upward.

"I wish you were in person here…to see me say that to you."

"Say what?" Mac gently urges, his heart rate picking up with each syllable that leaves his lips.

_**I think about you ev'ry night…**_

"Just that Mac, I'd rather have you here in person to say…anything and everything."

"It is hard to go home alone…"

"Every night…" Stella concludes their shared thought.

"Wake up alone..."

"Every morning."

_**When I'm here alone…**_

"Is there something that we can do about that?" Mac reluctantly wonders.

Stella hears his question and feels her world come to a stop. They had toyed with, danced round and round the idea of sharing a living space but had not actually had the emotional nerve to take that next critical step in making it actually happen.

"Stella?"

"To have you there…and me here…I would like to do something about it," she confesses wholeheartedly. "So maybe there was more to my call than just a simple hello and to wonder about a report. Maybe I up with another thought on my mind other than money."

_**And you're there at home.**_

"Do you want to talk about it tonight?"

"It's almost two AM Mac," Stella looks at the clock in near disbelief. Why did time always fly when she was on the receiving end of his amazing voice? It wasn't fair. She didn't want the call to end but he had just worked a double and it was selfish to keep him up to discuss over the phone a topic that demanded to be discussed face to face.

"So that's a no?"

_**May be it's been crazy…**_

"As much as I would love to hear your voice Mac, how about you just read me the phone book and we'll save the important discussion until we are sharing an egg's benny and two cups of strong coffee."

"The phone book?" Mac chuckles.

"Do you prefer a scientific dictionary?" She retorts with a cheeky tone.

"Well I actually happen to have one of those nearby. A big one."

"Oh I'll bet you do," Stella smirks. "Size does matter you know."

"So I've heard."

"But...I guess we always have some excuse come up when we walk to talk about this."

_**And maybe I'm to blame…**_

"At least we are both to blame for that," Mac leans his head back on the wall behind his bed and closes his eyes.

"Excuses? Yeah I guess so. I think we are so busy trying to figure out what won't work that we actually can't see all the things that do."

"I miss you Stella," Mac suddenly blurts out. "It's the truth – plain and simple. But you are right and I am tired of making excuses."

"That wasn't an excuse Mac."

_**But I put my heart above my head…**_

"No...it was the truth. I do miss you."

"I'm done making excuses Mac if you are," Stella readily agrees, her heart also racing faster as each emotional syllable escapes her lips. "I'm ready to talk about the next steps."

"I am to Stella," Mac utters in a whispered tone so low that if even a piece of fluff had dropped, she might not have heard his heartfelt confession.

"Really?"

_**We've been through it all…**_

"Really. It's time to start looking at all the things that will work and work on the things that won't, to make them work," he finishes and Stella giggles. "What?"

"Try saying that three times fast," Stella states with a large smile.

"Okay."

"I care for you Mac...more than just a friend," Stella suddenly confesses and his quiet world, screeches to a sudden halt. "I should have told you that long ago and maybe I just ran out of excuses as to why I haven't so far."

"What?" Mac inquires, his smile instantly morphed into a look of surprised shock.

_**And you loved me just the same…**_

"We've been through so much together Mac and each event, trial, happiness…whatever – has drawn us closer. And it's made me realize things have been growing stronger and stronger."

"See now that's not fair," Mac's heavy sigh halts the rest of her romantic confession.

"What isn't fair? My timing…Mac I'm sorry that…"

"No. It's not fair, that I'm not there to hear that in person."

_**And when you're not there…**_

"I guess I should have waited until tomorrow. Can I blame work?" Stella nervously giggles once more, her heart now racing with pure anxiety that her feelings weren't going to be reciprocated.

"Um sure," Mac answers softly, causing her heart to sink all the way to her hardwood floor.

Silence starts to build as both of them contemplate that gravity of what they had discussed the few minutes earlier. Growing feelings and sharing a living space were important topics but ones that needed two people sitting together face to face.

"Stella?"

_**I just need to hear.**_

"I just wanted to say hello Mac, but now I guess I should say goodnight."

"Stella…please no," Mac rushes, hearing the tormented sound in her tone, making his heart ache all over again.

"It's okay Mac, we are both tired and it's been a very long week."

"But..."

"No no more. It's okay."

"What that all you needed?"

"I guess not," she sighs as she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow Mac."

"Goodnight Stella."

She hangs up the phone, places it on the table beside the sofa and then buries her head in her folded arms. She had just wanted to make small talk, wanting to tell him that she was glad he got home okay and that he should sleep as long as he wanted and they'd meet when both of them were ready the following day. But she was tired and her guard was done; his tone inviting, with a touch of vulnerability and she gave in, confessed her inner heartfelt thoughts and put her whole emotional future on the line.

And it was rejected. He pulled back as she had thought for a split second that he might. They had talked over the years about moving in, taking the next step, and he was the one to always pull back. He said said before that that he was tired of making excuses and she took a chance. But it obviously was all a clever rouse on his part to get her to confess and him to display his time tested persona. He wasn't ready.

"Should have left it at hello and been done with it...oh hell I shouldn't have called," Stella groans as she finally pushes herself up to her feet and heads for the kitchen, dumps her mug of remaining tea shards and then heads for the bathroom. But now as she shuffles toward her bedroom, her mind is more awake and alert than before and she curses herself for the fact that she'll be the one competing with Mac and probably winning in the insomnia category.

But it's not long before a soft knock is heard at her door. She hurries toward it, her heart now racing facer with each step that hits the floor and rises in tandem. She pulls the door open; not entirely surprised at the man that is standing in the entryway with a soft look on his handsome face.

_**Hello my friend hello…**_

"Hello," Mac greets as he enters upon Stella's inviting gesture with her hand.

"Hello," Stella replies softly as she closes the door and leans against it, watching him with a wondering eye. "Mac what are…" is all she manages before he closes the space between them, pulls her into his strong arms and crushes her lips with his; flooding both their frames with heated passion.

Stella's arms encircle his neck, holding him in place as her mouth devours his, soft moans escaping from both of them as they remain fixed in place; passion dictating their moment. The moment seems to last as their two bodies start to meld into one, heat searing and both minds anticipating the next few hours and the ultimate expression of love and passion that was about to unfold.

_**It's good to need you so…**_

Mac finally pulls back, his fingers gently brushing her flushed cheek, his eyes crinkling as his lips match her smile. "Surprised?"

"In a good way. I honestly thought that you didn't feel the same and were um…scared by what I said."

"I wanted you to hear me say it in person."

"You just gotta one up me don't you?" Stella smirks, forcing Mac to lightly chuckle as he brushes her mouth with his once more. "Tell me Mac, tell me now."

_**It's good to love you like I do…**_

"I love you Stella," he tells her in truth; her expression offered in return one of shock.

"Y-you do?"

"With all my heart," Mac repeats, allowing her hand to wrap around the back of his neck and pull him down into her, readily accepting her kiss in response.

"I love you too Mac," Stella whispers her confession and then looks at him tenderly. "I wanted you to hear that in person also. I'm glad you're here right now."

"I was scared when you told me that earlier," Mac looks at her with a serious expression. "But in a good way."

_**And to feel this way…**_

"You scared?" Stella inquires with a warm smile.

"Scared when I heard your voice when I didn't give you back over the phone what you wanted. But I do love you Stella and I want to seriously talk about taking the next steps together."

"That's what I really wanted when I called."

_**When I hear you say…**_

"So, the hello…the report?"

"Were excuses," Stella giggles, still held fast in his strong embrace. "Guilty as charged."

Mac just smiles as he leans in for another kiss, his core temperature starting to rise the longer they remain pressed up against each other's hungry frame.

"Come on Mac," Stella's hand slips from around his neck to grasp his and clutch it firmly.

"I thought we were going to talk about our future?"

"Sometimes talking is over rated," Stella winks as they head toward her bedroom. "Besides it can wait until the morning," she mentions as they reach her bedroom.

"Stella, technically it is morning," Mac arches his brows as he follows her into her darkened room and slowly starts to close the door. He looks at her with a warm smile as she slowly unbuttons her pajama top.

"Hello handsome...come here," she lowers her voice into a husky tone and looks at him with an inviting gaze before she gestures for him to come closer. Mac closes the door and once again closes the space, takes her into her arms and backs up his words earlier of love. Their new day was just starting.

_**Hello.**_

**THE END!**

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><p><strong>AN:** Well I hope you all liked this and please review before you go – you know that fuels Alice to get busy with more smacked stuff for you if you want it and your words will do more than I can express openly :D

**PS:** Just updated NY Stories and hope you are all liking that as well.


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